


Melted Snow

by seafoamarts



Category: Given (Anime), Given (Manga)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-13
Updated: 2019-11-13
Packaged: 2021-01-29 18:09:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21414433
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seafoamarts/pseuds/seafoamarts
Summary: The memories with Yuki Yoshida are something Mafuyu Sato can never forget. With that in mind, will Mafuyu be able to move on from his past love in order to truly love his current boyfriend, Uenoyama Ritsuka? Or will the snow and ice from Mafuyu's winter story remain frozen over his heart?
Relationships: Satou Mafuyu & Uenoyama Ritsuka, Satou Mafuyu/Uenoyama Ritsuka, Satou Mafuyu/Yoshida Yuuki
Comments: 2
Kudos: 51





	Melted Snow

_ “Do you want to go to an amusement part with me today?”_

That was the first text Mafuyu Sato saw when he woke up that summer morning, and it was from Uenoyama Ritsuka. 

_ “I would love to go with you. Just let me get dressed first.” _

_ “Then, I’ll pick you up at your apartment, okay?” _

_ “Okay! I’ll see you soon :)” _

Mafuyu groggily typed his reply to Uenoyama before getting out of bed to brush his teeth. As he stumbled toward his bathroom, he gave Tama a little pat on his way by. 

When Mafuyu heard the doorbell ring, he fumbled to get his shirt on and rushed to answer the door. Upon opening it, Uenoyama greeted him good morning.

“Are you ready to go?” Uenoyama asks, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.

Mafuyu gives him a nod as he locks the door and closes it behind him. The two boys remained silent on their way to the train station. It wasn’t until Mafuyu slipped his hand in Uenoyama’s that he turned around to face the lighter-haired boy. All this time, Uenoyama was working up the courage to do such a thing, but Mafuyu had beat him to it. Mafuyu’s smile was so warm that it made Uenoyama’s heart flutter. His face grew hot, so he turned away. Mafuyu giggled lightly and gave Uenoyama’s hand a squeeze.

The pair spent the morning on roller coasters and other rides at the amusement park. Both were starting to feel a little hungry, so they decided to have lunch after riding the ferris wheel. From the window, Mafuyu watched as the ground got farther away from him as the ride started up. 

Upon reaching the top of the wheel, the machine came to a halt in order to allow the riders to get a glimpse of the view below. 

“The city beneath us is very beautiful,” Mafuyu grinned from ear to ear. 

“Yeah, it’s an amazing sight to look at,” Uenoyama agreed, but he wasn’t looking out the window like Mafuyu was. Instead, he was preoccupied with looking at the boy in front of him. “Hey, Mafuyu?”

“Hm?” as Mafuyu turned around, his lips were met by Uenoyama’s. For a moment, Mafuyu felt as though he were light as a feather, and couldn’t be any happier. This was the same feeling he experienced when he was with Yuki. The sudden thought sent Mafuyu’s feelings spiraling. His heart began to ache with sadness as his old memories with Yuki flooded back. He pulled away from Uenoyama to look down at his feet as he waited for the ferris wheel to come to a stop.

The two boys stepped off the ride, and Uenoyama could see that there was something wrong. Mafuyu kept his head down and didn’t say a word.

“Mafuyu, is there something wrong?” Uenoyama worriedly asked.

“I . . . I’m not feeling well. I’m going to head home for now,” the other boy replied, and started walking away.

Uenoyama tried to follow suit and managed to grab Mafuyu by the arm, but he pulled away. When Uenoyama tried to speak, Mafuyu cut him off. 

“I’ll be okay, I’m just going home to get some rest,” Mafuyu assured the other boy as he continued walking toward the station.

Not knowing what to do, Uenoyama stood on the sidewalk and watched as Mafuyu’s figure grew ever smaller in the distance.

_ Is he not feeling well because of the ferris wheel? _ Uenoyama wondered, _ But he seemed fine on all the other rides we went on, so it can’t be that he’s afraid of heights, can it? _

**. . .**

A few days passed and Uenoyama hadn’t seen Mafuyu since their date at the amusement park. He tried texting him a few times, but the words in Mafuyu’s replies were meager.

_ “Hey, Mafuyu, are you alright? I haven’t seen you for a few days, and I just wanted to make sure that you’re doing okay. You aren’t sick again, are you?” _

_ “No. I’m fine. You don’t have to worry.” _

Despite Mafuyu telling Uenoyama not to, of course he is going to worry about his boyfriend. Every time he tried calling Mafuyu’s cell, it would send him to voicemail. Uenoyama thought about going to his apartment to see him, but he wasn’t sure if Mafuyu was going to answer the door or not. There was one person that Uenoyama could think of for help, so he called him.

**. . .**

Mafuyu pulled the sheets over his head, despite it being a sweltering hot day. His cell was vibrating from the seemingly endless texts, but he couldn’t bring himself to reply to them. All he wanted was to be left alone in the dark. His shades were drawn, but the summer sunlight still managed to spill into the room. 

After endless tossing and turning, Mafuyu surrendered to his bedsheets. Tama stared in wonder at his aloof owner as he got dressed and started for the door. 

_ Maybe a walk will help to clear my mind, _Mafuyu decided. 

The boy didn’t have a set destination in mind when he began walking. He just followed wherever his legs brought him, and inevitably, he wound up by the oceanside. Mafuyu focused his eyes on the horizon, watching the ocean waves get bigger as they drew near. The sound of the waves crashing onto the beach was calming to Mafuyu, but it also brought with them the memories of _ that _ winter. 

The ocean always reminded Mafuyu of Yuki because it was he who took Mafuyu here for the first time. _ First time. _He had many of those with Yuki and believed that there were many more to come. This was not the case, because the life of such an amazing boy was cut short by misunderstandings and petty arguments. Although, it wasn’t always this way. In fact, the two were a happy couple who depended on and completed each other. 

Standing here, by the ocean, it’s almost as if he could hear Yuki’s voice again.

**. . .**

_ The seagulls soared in the sky as the cool ocean water crashed onto the beach. Two boys sat in the sand watching the sunset, hand in hand. _

_ “Funny how the sun leaves at the end of the day, but always comes back the next morning,” the taller boy chuckled. _

_ “Yeah, I guess you could say that,” the smaller boy smiled, “but even if you can’t see it sometimes, it’s always there.” _

_ “Say, Mafuyu, can I ask you something?” _

_ Mafuyu turned his head away from the horizon to look at the other boy, and he nodded. _

_ “Would you ever leave me for someone else and forget about me?” _

_ “Yuki, why would I leave you for someone else?” _

_ “Would you?” _

_ Mafuyu sighed when he realized Yuki was adamant about hearing an answer. _

_ “Yuki, I will say this as many times as you need to hear it,” Mafuyu explains, “I promise that I won’t leave you or forget about you. No matter the circumstances.” _

_ A reassuring smile spreads from one corner of Yuki’s mouth to the other. “I’m glad to hear that. I hope you don’t change your mind.” _

**. . .**

Mafuyu sighs at the memory that replayed in his head. _ Yuki is no longer here, so why is my heart is still clinging on? _

_ Because I still love him. _

The sound of his phone startles him because he was sure that he had turned it off. The call was from Hiiragi Kashima, Mafuyu and Yuki’s childhood friend. Mafuyu stared at the incoming call for some time before reluctantly answering. 

“Hello?”

_ “Mafuyu, where on Earth are you?” Hiiragi scolds through the phone. _

“Why do you want to know?” Mafuyu sighs.

_ “I want to know because your boyfriend, Uenoyama, here has been trying to contact you for the past few days, and apparently, you haven’t been answering his texts or calls,” Hiiragi explains, “He got worried and went to your apartment to look for you this morning, but you weren’t there, so he came looking for me.” _

“Let him know that I’m fine. I just went out for a walk.”

_ “Don’t you think you should be the one to tell him that? He’s _ your _ boyfriend after all.” _

Mafuyu doesn’t say anything.

_ “Look, clearly you aren’t doing fine, so what in the world could the problem be? You should be making the most out of your life,” Hiiragi chided. “Let me ask you a question, Mafuyu. Do you want what happened with Yuki to happen all over again? _

Mafuyu felt something pull on his heart. It was almost like the tugging of guitar strings. Then, he whispers something just barely audible to Hiiragi. “No.”

_ “Then listen to me when I tell you that you should cherish these feelings that you and Uenoyama share for each other. Love isn’t such an easy thing to find, and I’m sure you know that better than anyone,” Hiiragi says softly. “Besides, Yuki wouldn’t want to see you like this: suffering because of him. What he _ would’ve _ wanted is for you to be happy and live the life he wasn’t able to. If Yuki was here, he would tell you to continue loving Uenoyama, as much as you loved him, because if he isn’t able to receive your love, then someone deserving should.” _

As Hiiragi continued to talk through the phone, Mafuyu could feel the tears forming along his eyes. He tasted the salty tears as they rolled down his cheeks and onto his lips, while some fell from his face and mixed with the ocean water. He thought to himself, _ The ocean must have been crying from loneliness all this time to have become so salty. _

Hiiragi’s words echoed around in Mafuyu’s head. As annoying as it was to have Hiiragi tell him, he was right. He shouldn’t be focusing on his past anymore. Yuki’s death had always made Mafuyu reluctant to love anyone again, but it was time to face the facts. 

Waiting here and holding on to the pain of this heartache won’t bring Yuki back from the dead. The truth is, those who are gone are gone. But not entirely. So long as you hold them deep in your heart, they will never be forgotten. They will continue to live on in your memories of them. A piece of them will still roam this earth as long as stories are told, but people should move on, just as life does. 

As evening rolled in, and the sun began to set, Mafuyu pulled his phone out of his pocket to send a text.

_ “Uenoyama, please meet me at the beach.” _

Instantaneously, Mafuyu received a reply.

_ “I’ll be there in 10 minutes! Don’t go anywhere.” _

As Uenoyama promised, the boy could be seen running toward Mafuyu just after ten minutes of sending his reply. Although both were happy to see the other, they spent the first few moments walking along the shoreline before either of them spoke. Mafuyu had finally gathered himself enough to stop in his tracks to face the black-haired boy. 

Mafuyu started, “I’m-”

But Uenoyama cut him off before he could finish, “I love you.”

For a while, Mafuyu didn’t say anything back. Instead, he made a habit of looking down at his feet and the sand underneath them. Like the sand, he realizes, he and Uenoyama are just tiny specs of dust floating in the universe, of which was more massive than either of them could fathom. But like each grain of sand, they both have a place in the universe.

When he finally manages to tear his eyes away from the ground to look at Uenoyama, who was patiently waiting for his boyfriend’s response, tears began spilling from his eyes once more. But that didn’t matter to him.

Through the tears that blurred his vision, Mafuyu shakenly replies, “I love you too.” Then he begs, “Please don’t leave me and disappear.”

“Upon all the stars in this universe, I will _ never _ leave your side,” Uenoyama swore, then pulled Mafuyu’s lips to his own. 

To passersby, it would seem like one mere kiss, but to Uenoyama and Mafuyu, it was a promise. A promise to always stay together and love each other, no matter how hard it may be, and no matter the differences they may face. 

Reluctantly, Uenoyama pulls his lips away from the other boy and smiles softly at him. He could never come to understand how so much pain could be stowed away in such a small figure. 

The pair sat on the sand as they watch the last of the sun set. Mafuyu looked to his right, and the space was taken by Uenoyama. The black-haired, blue-eyed boy, who was real and in the flesh, with a warm body that encompassed a beating heart.

When Mafuyu looked to his left, he saw Yuki, smiling at the happy couple. As Mafuyu continues to stare into his eyes, Yuki smiles. It was a smile to assure Mafuyu that he understands how Mafuyu feels, as well as what he wants.

_ “I’m glad you could move on and find someone who loves you the way I was never able to,” _ Yuki confides with Mafuyu. _ “Now go on, Mafuyu, go and live a life you’re happy in.” _

As Yuki finishes his sentence, he looks at Mafuyu with a face of longing. Oh how he wished he could hold him in his arms once more, but deep in his eyes, Mafuyu could see that there was peace in his soul. Just like the last of the sun that was glistening on the endless sea, a shimmer of light was reflecting in Mafuyu’s eyes. And like that shimmer of light, Mafuyu watched as Yuki faded into the sunset.

Mafuyu tightens his grip on Uenoyama’s hand, hoping the moment would never come when he had to let go. He leaned his head against Uenoyama’s shoulder, closed his eyes, and smiled, knowing that Yuki would be watching over them, as a star, shining ever so brightly in the night sky.

  
  


[END]


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